The True Meaning of Green-Ninjago Movie Oneshot
by Zena Airale
Summary: A collab I did with Eye of the Wolfe; our take of Movie!Garmadon explaining why he left Misako and Lloyd.


As the crowds of Ninjago stood still with fear, a red-headed woman marched right up to Lord Garmadon and delivered a backhanded slap right across his charred face. "How _dare_ you come back here." She snarled as she stared up at the much taller man.

Garmadon rubbed his cheek with his upper left hand while holding his lower hands up in defense. "Koko, _please_ -"

"Don't _Koko, please_ me." She mocked as she wrinkled her nose. "You abandon me and my son for _16 years_ and you waltz back into town expecting me to welcome you back?!"

"I wasn't exactly expecting a welcome, but- _wait_ ," Garmadon narrowed his blood red eyes at his ex-wife. " _Abandon_?"

Koko crossed her arms. "Yes, _abandon_." She spat. "I trusted you, _loved_ you- and after our beautiful son was born you abandoned me. You left me to raise a child alone. I can't ever forgive you for that."

Garmadon didn't seem to listen to her. "You thought I _abandoned_ you?" he bellowed so loudly it shook the street. The citizens on looking the squabble took a few more steps back.

Koko didn't flinch. She kept her narrowed gaze directly on Garmadon. "I knew you are the villain of the city, but I was hoping you'd be the hero in my life. That's what I get for falling for a warlord." Leaving Garmadon speechless, she turned to leave. She was about to wipe some water from her eyes, but the warlord softly grabbed her arm.

"I didn't mean to hurt you, Koko," he said softly, in the soothing voice that Koko adored 16 years ago. She took a deep breath and turned back to her ex. "Then what did you expect would happen, Garm? That I was okay with you vanishing when I needed you the most?"

He slowly reached down and took her hand. "You were the best thing that had ever happened to me. Well, until Luh-loyd was born. I...never really knew what having a family meant until the moment I saw his little face. I couldn't have been more proud."

Koko tried not to show it, but her throat was tightening up and it was getting harder and harder to breathe.

"But the thoughts," Garmadon continued, his red eyes glaring into hers. "The evil in my blood wouldn't keep silent, no matter how hard I tried to silence it. I wanted so badly to be the good father I should have been- but there was no stopping evil. Once I saw Luh-loyd's green eyes, I knew. I knew he was the one in the prophecy. He would become the Master of Green that was destined to defeat the dark lord. My thoughts...they...tempted me, blinded me, of the joy I felt when I was with my son."

Lloyd halted suddenly as he rushed from around a corner and saw his father standing next to his mother. He motioned to his team, who was following him, and he ducked behind a car to be unseen, but still be able to hear the conversation.

"All I wanted to do was get rid of him," Garmadon continued. "That's all my mind wanted to do. I saw my child, my beautiful son, and I wanted him gone."

Lloyd's heart turned to ice. His eyes instantly filled with tears and he took off into an alley behind him. His team watched him, but they knew better than to race after him.

Koko stared back at the warlord, her eyes sparking with water. "That's why you left," she murmured, now understanding.

Garmadon nodded his head. "I knew- I- I couldn't...hurt him." He choked back sobs with each word. "The night I ran away I got closer than ever before. I had- a- katana- _gasp_ \- and I was standing - _gasp_ \- above- _gasp_ \- his crib. He was so peaceful, but my evil mind tried to not let me see that." Garm clasped his hands tightly around Koko's. "I got so close, Koko. _So close!_ I stopped myself at the last second, and when I did, I just ran. I could not- _gasp_ -get that close- _gasp_ \- to hurting my son- _gasp_ -ever- _gasp_ -again."

Koko couldn't talk even if she tried. She knew he had struggled with the cursed evil blood that ran through his veins, but she never imagined it could have been that bad.

Garmadon took a deep breath before continuing. "I don't know what love is, Koko." He muttered. "But the day I ran, _I thought that I felt like I did_."

He held Koko tightly against him. "I'm _so_ sorry..." he sobbed.

Koko gasped, having just seen Lloyd pass by just a while ago. "Lloyd...He was just here..."

"W-Where?"

"I just saw him..."

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Lloyd sobbing into his knees. He rushed over to him.

"Luh-loyd!" He cried.

"Get away from me!" Lloyd couldn't bear to see his father's face.

"It's not what you think!"

"I said, _GET AWAY!_ " In a fit of anger, he summoned and launched an energy ball at his father in a matter of seconds.

Garmadon dodged it. He took a deep breath, talking in a much calmer voice, slowly moving closer to his son, eventually kneeling in front of him "Let me explain... _please..._ "

Lloyd backed away, but eventually collapsed into his father's arms, wanting to hold onto something.

"Shhhh..." Garmadon's eyes flooded with tears upon seeing Lloyd in such distress. "I should've explained this earlier... _much earlier..._ I wasn't evil to begin with... When I was much younger...I...I had sharkfin soup one day, but it was poisoned with evil. Years passed, and months before I met your mother, I became consumed. And then I met _her._ We were so close, but...the moment we had you, I knew from the start that you were destined to be the Green Ninja... The evil nearly took over... I...nearly laid a hand on you... I ran away... _I couldn't take it..._ "

Lloyd couldn't control his sobbing. Every time he took a deep breath, the shaking fit would just restart. He could feel his father rub his back with three hands, but in that moment he couldn't care whether it was his mom, Kai, a shark soldier, or his evil father to reassure him.

Koko slowly approached the two and shared a glance with the other teenagers. They all stood quiet and reserved because they didn't exactly know what was going on.

Garmadon brushed through Lloyd's beach blonde hair as the sobs continued. Finally, in his calming and soothing voice, Garmadon spoke. "Now do you understand?"

Lloyd's sobs turned into gasps as he tried to respond. "I...understand," he made out, then pulled back from the clutches of his father. He used his green jacket to wipe the tears off of his red cheeks. "But why..." he sniffed, now glaring angrily at Garmadon, "Why come back? If all you want to do is get rid of me, why did you come find me, if not to...to..." Lloyd couldn't find the right word.

With a sigh, Garmadon rested all of his hands on his knees. "I rather face the pain of the evil making me do something I can't do, then face the pain of knowing I... _abandoned_ you on my own accord."

Behind him, Koko flinched when he said "abandon". The team of teens all exchanged looks.

Garmadon never dropped his gaze with Lloyd. "You probably will never forgive me, as had your mother said. But I want you to know that the man that hasn't been corrupted by evil inside of me has been screaming in agony for 16 years because I ran."

Lloyd's face melted from rage to sorrow as he began to realize what his father was trying to do.

"Luh-loyd, please," his father whispered. "I know this won't mean anything to you, but I am so... _sorry_..." He choked on his words like it was physically hard to speak them. He took a moment, swallowed hard, then continued. "I am sorry I ever left you and your mother's side. I want...I want to come back to be your father before you leave for college but I understand if you say no."

Lloyd slowly shifted his gaze from his father to his mother who just stood behind him. She had a small smile but was hiding it with her hands. This is all she had ever wanted Garmadon to say, and Lloyd could tell she would welcome him back.

Then his gaze shifted to his friends, who, even though Garmadon had confessed and explained himself, still looked at him like he was the greatest villain in the world. For the first time, he felt cheated of his friends for still despising him. But the more he pondered it, the Moses he realized that no matter what Garmadon could do-move to Ninjago or be exiled-he would still be feared by every person in the world except for his son and his wife.

Lloyd hated having to choose his father's fate, for the right thing to do could be either. Lloyd opened his mouth to answer when one of Master Wu's greatest teachings slipped into his mind.

" _Do not wait until tomorrow what must be done today._ "

Lloyd tore his eyes away from the terrified looks of his ninja team and back into the red glowing pupils of his father. As he repeated the teaching of Master Wu in his head, the decision he had to make was as clear as day.

With tearful eyes, Lloyd reached over and grasped the hands of Garmadon and nodded. "Stay... _please..._ Be the father I never had."

Garmadon let loose a small chuckle of pure joy as a tear slid down his cheek.

The green ninja ignored the gasps of his team just beyond his mom, who was beaming with pride. "Dad, after all we've been through the past few days, I finally realized what I was missing-and it wasn't just a father figure."

The warlord raised a curious eyebrow in the midst of his tears.

"I realized...I had heard all my life of the horrors that you were. It was all one sided...and I believed it all. So when I finally met you, everything I knew about my father was the villain the world thought you were. Now I know that there's more behind those red eyes and the evil laugh. You're just a man... a misunderstood man. And I'm going to make sure that Ninjago will get to see the real you."

Koko wiped her tears. The team of Ninja slowly moved around her, but instead of looks of fear, now they shared the looks of hope that Lloyd was currently showing his dad.

Lloyd took a deep breath, then continued. "And dad," he began, but paused after his voice cracked with emotion. His eyes drifted to the ground, as if he was embarrassed about what he was about to say. "I just wanna say...that...I love you... _so much_..."

Garmadon flashed a fanged smile. "I...I love you too... _Lloyd..._ "

Lloyd felt his heart skip a beat as he looked up at his father in shock. His father had called him by his actual name for the first time in his life. Both father and son shared a smile, then a giggle, then they found themselves laughing at each other. Lloyd looked over at his ninja team, who were now smiling and patting each other on the back, happy that Lloyd had resolved his quarrel with his dad.

Garmadon stood and helped his son up, and arm in arm they walked over to Koko and the others. Lloyd had a huge smile on his face as he rushed over and hugged his mom. "I've never felt this good in my whole life!" he disclosed to his mom, but the feeling didn't last long. As he embraced his mom, he suddenly saw the crowd gathered behind them.

The citizens of Ninjago had watched in silence the scene unfold in front of them.

For a second, Lloyd didn't know how to feel. He was happy that his dad had come to terms with him, but he had completely forgotten that the entire world would never forgive Garmadon for destroying the city and hurting innocent people. With his heart overwhelmed with both joy and sorrow, Lloyd turned slowly to his warlord father.

"The people..." Lloyd murmured as he gestured at the crowd. Garmadon looked up uncomfortably, but quickly looked back down at his son. "You would've... _"_ Lloyd tried to find the right words to say. "But you didn't- you _couldn't..._ _It wasn't your fault..."_

The dark lord's red eyes drifted to the ground in shame. Now desperate, Lloyd clenched his teeth. _"_ How do I fix this?You don't deserve to live like this! _I DON'T WANT OUR RELATIONSHIP TO BE LIKE THIS!"_ He dashed forward, sobbing into his father's arms.

"Shhhhhh... I'm here... It's going to be okay...you know now that I love you more than anything."

"I don't want you to be evil..." Lloyd whimpered. "I really don't..."

"S-So do I..." Garmadon replied with a soft voice, caressing his son's hair lightly. "But there's nothing we- _I_ can do."

Lloyd let those words resonate within him as he clutched his father. "The world will always fear you," Lloyd whispered.

Garmadon nodded. "But if I'm with you, I won't mind one bit."

Confused, Lloyd looked up at his dad. "But, everyone will stay away from you."

His dad nodded sharply. "Yep."

Now Lloyd raised an eyebrow. "And whisper about you?"

"Yep."

"And call you names?"

"Yeah."

"And never try to befriend you?!"

"Yeah, all of that."

Lloyd was shocked. He couldn't fathom that Garmadon was willing to be ridiculed for the rest of his life just to be Lloyd's stay-at-home dad. "Why go through all that suffering...for me?''

Garmadon looked at Lloyd like he was crazy. "I thought you of all people would understand, Lloyd. The world may seem evil to you at times. But where there is shadow, there must also be a light. And you, Lloyd- you are the light to my shadow."

Suddenly, something clicked inside of Lloyd. All those years in school- being the outcast of the school- nobody liked him because nobody saw a light. But as the Green Ninja, he was the light of the city. The green light, to be more exact. The Master of Green.

"That's it," Lloyd gasped as a green aura surrounded the teen. Garmadon quickly stepped back in surprise. "That's what green is!"

"Green is what?" Garmadon said distractedly as he inspected his glowing son with wide eyes.

Lloyd didn't even seem to notice that his body was becoming brighter and brighter by the second. "Master Wu made me the Green Ninja, but he would never tell me what 'green' was! Now I know! Green isn't just the opposite of evil, it's the color for hope! It's the light that outshines the darkness! It's what I need to become in order to vanquish evil!"

"Ah," Garmadon noted as he took a few more steps back. Koko was shielding her eyes while the ninja team all looked on with wide eyes and gaping mouths. "Speaking of becoming something..." Garmadon trailed off as Lloyd's eyes now shifted from a penetrating glowing green to a sharp gold.

"What?" Lloyd asked, then he looked down at his hands. He jumped a few inches in the air and stuttered backwards. "WHAT THE-"

Garmadon quickly rushed after his son. "Lloyd, it's okay- this...is probably normal-"

"DAD I'M GLOWING!"

"Yes, I can clearly see that, let me just-" Lloyd was hopping around the pavement leaving a shimmering green and gold trail as he tried to shake off the glow. Garmadon reached out and grabbed Lloyd's arm but quickly drew back as if he was burned. He looked down and froze when he saw his hand fade back to black from yellow.

Lloyd froze as well when he saw his dad's hand. "You...you were normal..." he gasped, and his green aura flickered gold.

Garmadon looked up at his son. "This isn't possible."

Lloyd instinctively reached out and grabbed two of his father's hands. On contact the black melted to yellow. "I can do this," the green ninja said. Lord Garmadon, with his red eyes full of fear, stared back at his counterpart.

The world seemed to stop in that moment. Lloyd almost had his life flash before his eyes; every moment he spent with his mom, all the training and teamwork he worked with his team, all the tough days he endured at school, every teaching delivered by Master Wu, every unexpected memory he gained recently with his dad- it all led to this moment.

The warlord shook his head. "Lloyd, no- where there is light there must always be shadow!"

Lloyd scrunched his eyebrows together and channelled his energy, like Master Wu had told the other ninja. "Not unless my light shines bright enough!"

Unleashing everything he had, the green light flashed instantly to gold and engulfed the whole city in a blinding yellow light. Instead of incredible pain or exhaustion, all Lloyd felt was a warm shudder pass through his body. The world was blinding for a few seconds, and in those seconds, Lloyd felt like he was powerful enough to stop an entire army.

The light vanished as fast as it came. Lloyd sank to his knees and blinked away the light that had dilated his eyes completely. As they focused, the first thing he checked was to see if he was still glowing. He was not.

Still blinking, he looked up to see his family and team, and when he did, his heart skipped a few beats.

Rising off the ground was a man he had never seen before, but Lloyd knew instantly that it was his father. As the man slowly rose to his feet, Lloyd got a good look at his face. It was slightly wrinkled with graying blonde hair and normal black eyes. The man was dressed in a green, lavender purple, and black kimono with golden dragons running up the sides from the back. A red belt was tied around his waist. The fabric flowed in the wind, making it seem like the dragons were moving.

As Garmadon descended, Lloyd let out a cry and ran into the open arms of his now-purified father. He embraced him tight, sobbing uncontrollably. He was unable to make out any words, but it was okay. He didn't need to say anything. His father was here...uncorrupted...and his family was whole again.

"You did it, Lloyd..." Garmadon smiled, looking down at his son, whispering softly into his ears. "You actually did it. Oh, I'm _so_ proud of you...I truly am...I truly am..."

"I-I c-can't believe y-you're really h-here..." Lloyd's body shook as the tears kept on coming. He was utterly overwhelmed and couldn't contain it all inside.

Garmadon continued to hold Lloyd close to him, rubbing his back in reassurance. "We're together at last...Things couldn't have been better... Let it out... It's okay... "

Minutes passed, and Lloyd eventually calmed down. "I've missed you..."

Garmadon chuckled lightly. "Me too, Lloyd. You're with me. Everything's alright."


End file.
